The National League Won the World Series Quiz

Answer: 1914

In 1914 the Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Athletics four games to none. This was a remarkable accomplishment for several reasons.

The team were perennial bottom dwellers. Prior to 1914, the last time they won more games than they lost was 1902. The season started along a similar note with the Braves in last place on July 4, right around the midpoint of the season. However, they went on to win 70 of their last 89 games to win the pennant by over 10 games.

In the World Series they faced the heavily favored Philadelphia Athletics who had won three of the previous four World Series. Not only did the Braves beat the A's, they became the first team to win the World Series in a true sweep (the Cubs won four games to none in 1907 but that was after game one was declared a tie after 12 innings due to darkness).

Alas, the triumph was short-lived as the Braves did not win another series until 1957 by which time they had moved to Milwaukee. That year they beat the New York Yankees. Their next win was in 1995 (as the Atlanta Braves) when they beat the Cleveland Indians. They lost one more World Series while still in Boston in 1948. The Braves also lost one series during their time in Milwaukee, in 1958, and lost four times in Atlanta during the 1990s.

Answer: 1926

In 1926 the St. Louis Cardinals became the last of the eight teams that played in the National League from 1900-1961 to make their first World Series appearance. The Cardinals beat the New York Yankees four games to three. The Yankees, who were in the midst of six appearances in eight years, would go on to win by a sweep in each of the next two years, including beating the Cards in 1928.

This series was most notable for the way it ended. Future Hall of Famer Grover Alexander pitched and won game six for the Cardinals to even the series at three games apiece. Figuring he wouldn't pitch the next day, Alexander went out partying as he was wont to do. However, when game seven was on the line, player-manager Rogers Hornsby called on Alexander to pitch the final two and a third innings to try and protect a 3-2 lead.

With two outs in the ninth inning Alexander walked Babe Ruth who represented the tying run. Rather than wait at first, Ruth decided to steal second base to get into scoring position. The throw from the catcher beat him and he was tagged out to end the series. It was the only time in the 20th century that a World Series ended with an attempted stolen base.

Answer: 1908

In 1908 the Chicago Cubs became the first team to win two World Series and managed to make them back-to-back. They also became the first team to appear in three straight series having lost in 1906 to their crosstown rivals, the Chicago White Sox. In 1908 they beat the Detroit Tigers, led by Ty Cobb, for the second straight year. This series ended four games to one.

The Cubs who were led by pitcher Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown and the famous double play combination of Joe Tinker (shortstop), Johnny Evers (second baseman), and player/manager Frank Chance (first baseman). Tinkers, Evers, and Chance were immortalized in a poem, "Baseball's Sad Lexicon", written by a Giants' fan in which he lamented the ability of the three fielders to kill Giant rallies by turning a double play.

It was to be the Cubs last World Series win for 108 years. Over the next 37 years they made the series seven more times (1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, and 1945) but lost each time. However, 1945 was their last World Series appearance for 71 years when they ended their championship drought.

The Cubs almost didn't make the World Series in 1908. About two weeks before the end of the season, the Giants appeared to have beaten the Cubs when Al Bridwell singled with runners at first and third and two outs in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game. Although the winning run appeared to score and the fans poured onto the field, the runner at first, Fred Merkle, did not run all the way to second. The Cubs were eventually able to retrieve the ball and step on second for the force out. With the fans on the field it was determined that the game couldn't be resumed. When the season ended, the Giants and Cubs ended the season with identical records and the tie game had to be replayed. The Cubs won and advanced to the World Series, but had Merkle touched second base, the Giants would have won the pennant.

Answer: 1955

In 1955 "next year" finally came for fans in Brooklyn. It was the Dodgers eighth World Series appearance with the previous seven all ending in defeat (the first two of those in 1916 and 1920 occurred while the team was still known as the Brooklyn Robins). This led to fans of the team adopting the motto of "Wait 'til next year". 1955 ended up being their only World Series win while in Brooklyn as the team moved to Los Angeles following the 1957 season. They beat the New York Yankees four games to three.

In the 10 year span from 1947-1956, the Dodgers played the Yankees in the World Series six times with the Yankees coming out on top the other five times. The Dodgers of the early 1950s were immortalized in Roger Kahn's book "The Boys of Summer". The two teams continued to meet in the series even after the Dodgers moved to LA. In the 20th century, there were 11 Dodgers-Yankees World Series, all between 1941 and 1981. The Dodgers won in 1955, 1963, and 1981 but lost the other eight. Dodgers-Yankees was the most common World Series matchup in the 20th century, four ahead of Giants-Yankees.

Answer: 1905

1905 was the second World Series ever and the first won by a National League team. The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia A's four games to one. It also featured one of the greatest pitching performances ever.

It is rare for a pitcher to win three games in a single World Series. In 1905, Christy Mathewson won three games in a series that lasted only five games between October 9 and October 14. All three wins were complete game shutouts. Not only did he not allow any A's to score, none were able to safely reach third base. In the other two games the Giants won one by a shutout and lost the other three to zero giving up three unearned runs. Thus, not only did Mathewson pitch three shutouts, the team gave up no earned runs over the course of the series.

Mathewson later went on to become one of the five players elected to the first Hall of Fame class in 1936.

The Giants moved to San Francisco following the 1957 season but did not win a World Series there until 2010.

Answer: 1997

In 1997 the Florida Marlins made history in a couple of ways with their four games to three win over the Cleveland Indians. The Marlins were only in their fifth year of existence, making them the fastest franchise to win the World Series (except for the Boston Red Sox who won the very first series).

The Marlins also became the first team to win the World Series without finishing first in the regular season. Prior to 1969, both leagues sent the team with the best record to the World Series. From 1969-1993, the leagues were split into two divisions, each with the division winners playing off for the right to play in the World Series. (In 1981, the season was split into two halves due to a players' strike. The winners of each half played in the first round of the playoffs prior to the regular Division Championship Series. The Dodgers won their division in the first half and went on to win the World Series that year.)

Starting in 1994, the leagues were split into three divisions each. This introduced the concept of a wild card team qualifying for the playoffs without winning their division in order to avoid having three teams in the playoffs in each league. Florida finished the 1995 season with the second best record in the National League but also the second best record in their division. Thus they qualified as the wild card team. They were able to win both of their playoff series to qualify for the World Series as a wild card team, the first team to do so.

Answer: 1969

The 1969 "Miracle" New York Mets beat the Baltimore Orioles four games to one. Given the Mets' prior history, this was one of the biggest surprises ever. In 1962 the National League expanded from eight to ten teams by adding the Mets and the Houston Colt 45's who later became the Astros. The Mets finished last in the league in their first four seasons as well as five of their first six. In their fifth and seventh seasons they rose all the way to next to last.

When the league added two more teams in 1969 and split into two divisions, it was a huge surprise when the Mets not only won their division but then also swept the Atlanta Braves in the first ever National League Championship, three games to zero. The Orioles had swept the Dodgers in the World Series three years earlier and were heavy favorites. However, after losing game one, the Mets managed to win the next four.

The Mets were not the only New York underdog to win in 1969. The Jets behind Joe Namath won the AFL's first Super Bowl earlier that year.

The Mets next World Series win was in 1986, a series of personal note for me as I was able to attend game five in Boston. 1986 was also notable as the Mets faced the Astros, the other team that entered the league in 1962, in the NLCS. They also lost the World Series in both 1973 and 2000.

Answer: 1980

In 1980 the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals four games to two. This was notable because the Phillies were the last of the 16 teams that played from 1901-1960 to win the World Series.

The Phillies had survived a tough NLCS, winning three games to two in a series where they had to face the great Nolan Ryan in game five. They were led by pitcher Steve Carlton and MVP third baseman Mike Schmidt. This was notable as the first World Series where both teams played on artificial turf rather than real grass.

Answer: 1960

In 1960 the Pittsburgh Pirates won a series that set almost every offensive record for a seven-game series. They beat the Yankees four games to three. Although the Pirates won the series, it was the Yankees who set all those records. The Pirates were outscored 55-27. The Yankees won each of their three games by at least ten runs. Three runs was the largest margin of victory for Pittsburgh.

It was also unique in that it was the first time a World Series was won by a game seven, bottom of the ninth (or extra innings) home run. Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski did the honors with a lead off home run that broke a nine-nine tie.

The Pirates won five World Series in the 20th century, all of them in seven games. In 1909 they beat the Detroit Tigers, in 1925 the Washington Senators fell, and in both 1971 and 1979 the Baltimore Orioles were their victims. They also lost the series in 1903 and 1927. Their .714 series winning percentage was the highest in the 20th century among the franchises that existed back in 1903 during the first series.

Answer: 1975

The Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Red Sox in an exciting seven-game series in 1975. The series was most noted for game six where the Red Sox tied the series in a twelve-inning thriller. In the bottom of the eighth, outfielder Bernie Carbo tied the game for the Sox with a three run homer. This set up catcher Carlton Fisk's dramatic twelfth inning game winner where he was seen standing between home plate and first base trying to wave the ball fair with his hands. His efforts were successful as the ball hit the foul pole in left field and was called a home run.

The Reds had the last laugh though, as they scored the winning run in the top of the ninth in game seven to win their first World Series since 1940 when they beat the Detroit Tigers. They followed up the 1975 win the following year with a win over the New York Yankees, becoming the first National League team since 1921-22 to win back-to-back World Series.